29 April 2010

From Denny: Now if this doesn't make you angry. This woman gets fired because she found out, after testing her DNA, that she had an 80% chance of getting the dreaded breast cancer. So, as a preventative measure, she got a double mastectomy to avoid getting sick.

Now, it turns out, her employee figured they could fire her and save some money on their health insurance premiums. Talk about depraved indifference. Now what were these guys doing violating her privacy in the first place? What has her health condition and DNA have to do with her job performance? Answer: none.

Let's see, just how many laws and sense of decency did this energy company violate? Try the Genetic Information Non-discriminaton Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act for starters. Health privacy and human rights should be added to the list. Here we go again, women are being treated like second-class citizens in their own country. When is this garbage going to stop?

As long as there are no laws getting enforced there will be egregious corruption and injustices like this case. Just think of all the cases not brought to court because people are so afraid to make a health claim for fear of getting fired from a job they need to pay their bills. In this state of Louisiana doctors are complaining there is little surgery to be had because people injured on the job work with injuries just to avoid getting laid off.

The real inconvenient truth here is that her employer figured out she was a liability as she was getting closer to age 40 and they wanted to start thinning out the employee herd. They went for the older and sick - or those who possibly would be getting sick in the near future - and started firing them.

As long as our current federal government sits on their hands and does nothing to stem this tide in the work place it will only get worse. So, Mr. President, what do you - and this idiot Senate of inconsiderate destructive jerks - plan to do about it? Women and the entire public are tired of these kinds of constant in-your-face injustices.

Pelosi does her job exceedingly well. She has enough toughness to invite the Republicans once and if they refuse she cuts them out from further negotiations. They hate her and respect her. Reid waffles and rarely does his job, achieving a drop of what the Democratic agenda was supposed to be: helping the middle class.

When are you, Mr. President, going to quit listening to the wrong advisors in your administration that are telling you to go softly on Big Business - effectively telling the middle class "Oh, just eat cake if you are hungry!" Mr. President, quit being mollified by these guys who are telling you to sideline the big reforms and just keep the campaign money rolling into the coffers. This is no way to run a transparent and truly ethical government. Stand up for the middle class and be counted.

A Connecticut woman claims she was fired despite years of glowing reports by her employer after she told them she had tested positive for the breast cancer gene and would undergo a double mastecomy as a preventative measure.

"I was a great employee and I did really great work," said Pamela Fink, 39. "The only thing that changed from the time that I had a great review to when I didn't was my two surgeries."

Fink has filed complaints at the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities as well as the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that she was fired from the Stamford, Conn., company MXenergy because of her genetic testing results.

She is claiming that by doing so, her employer, MXenergy, a natural gas and electricity provider, violated the Genetic Information Nondiscriminaton Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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28 April 2010

From Denny: So you want to find something interesting about Mothers Day this year? Have I got some trivia for you! I went researching and found all kinds of crazy facts that are absolutely useless but guaranteed to make you the toast of the party when you start spouting off and sounding intelligent to your fellow guests.

Of course, if it's a Mothers Day celebration they just might kick you out... such is the price of being a "know it all." Awww, they are just jealous you know so much trivia! :)

Seriously though, I did find some unusual traditions for celebrating the holiday and thought you might enjoy a chuckle today as I rewrote the dry facts into humorous prose. Raising a toast to all the mothers around the world: Enjoy your Mothers Day!

Check this out on the way to facts about Mothers Day:

So when do they think the first celebrations of a Mother's Day were honored? As with so many traditions it goes back to ancient Greece where that culture celebrated the Mother of the Gods, Rhea. Their version of the perfect mother received gifts of cakes made with the sweetest honey, lovely flowers and drinks at dawn. Sounds pretty good to me. Make my drink a Margarita on the rocks with Silver Patron Tequila - though I'm not so sure alcoholic drinks were on that Mother's Day menu. :)

Well, we all know you can't talk "ancient" without bringing up the ancient Egyptians into the conversation. They honored the glorious goddess Isis because she was celebrated as the Mother of the Pharaohs - and we all know it's good PR to talk good about the government when getting your head cut off is at stake.

Speaking of an ancient culture, the Chinese are rather sentimental about how they celebrate motherhood. The tradition with them is that their family name often begins with the character for the word "mother." It's the way they like to honor their ancestral mothers who brought their line into this world.

So what's happening in the Celtic and Norman part of the world? In the United Kingdom and Ireland they honor mothers with the holiday of Mothering Sunday. They don't celebrate in May like in America. They honor their mothers on the fourth Sunday of Lent, about three weeks before Easter Sunday.

Talk about ancient, how about that woman who is supposed to have mothered the entire human race as stated in the Bible? Yes, Eve. She is world renown in many cultures and titled as Mother of All The Living. Now that's a supreme title, folks!

In the beginning of the tradition to honor women on Mothers Day the day was spent in quiet prayer, contemplation and fond remembrance. But, you know how it is, Big Business just had to get into the act to make a buck - and commercialization of a heart felt holiday was born. So, here we are, now saddled with sappy Hallmark cards, online florists, impersonal restaurant gift cards and cheap gifts made with lead poisoning from China. Oh, well, it's the thought that counts, right?

Here's a cool coincidence: in most languages the word for "mother" almost always begins with an "m." It just goes to show that women really do rule the world. :)

What Buddha had to say about mothers was interesting: "As a mother - even at the risk of her own life - loves and protects her child - so let a man cultivate love without measure: toward the whole world." I read that as "Listen, mister, your mom took really good care of you and you had better appreciate it by showing respect toward others!"

What does the 1997 Guinness Book of Records have in their weirdness archives about mothers? They credit the Russian wife of Fedor Vassilyev as having the most children, 69 to be exact. (By not being named I guess she wanted to remain anonymous.) She had 16 pairs of twins (oh, thank God), seven sets of triplets (another Hallelujah) and an additional four sets of quadruplets (color this one into the Amen corner and collapse). Truly this woman was a woman of fortitude! My first question is: So, how many nannies did you hire? This woman definitely earned her way into Heaven so fast she slid into Heaven Home Base like a pro athlete.

Who has the title of the youngest mother ever recorded? That dubious honor goes to a five year old seven month girl (almost a whopping six year old) who gave birth to a baby boy who weighed in at 6 1/2 pounds. She was from Lima, Peru and the year was 1939. Either someone is joking with us or this little girl had an abnormal growth hormone issue that caused this motherhood before her time. And just how do you explain to your kid when he's older that you really are his mother when you are young enough to be his sister or wife? High creep factor on this one.

Another weirdness factor was a woman prophet known as Mother Shipton (though there is some controversy that she might be fictional or was a female alter ego of a writer). Anyway, moving the story line right along, she lived in Britain over 500 years ago and predicted another Queen Elizabeth would sit on England's throne. Well, let me do the same and predict another Queen Elizabeth will sit on the English throne. Come on, folks, these days the name "Elizabeth" is incredibly popular and common in usage. It's bound to happen again. Just remember you heard it here first! Poets are prophets too... :)

A floral tradition for Mothers Day is the choice of sweet smelling carnations - just not those weird Kool-Aid colors the grocery stores put out because they dyed them by spiking their drinking water. I'm talking about the authentic carnations that come in white or red. You wear white carnations to remember a deceased mother and you wear or give red carnations to the mothers who are living. Now don't be cheeky and insult your mom by mixing up the traditions.

Speaking of cheeky, there is a strange custom in Yugoslavia. Mothers Day there is known as Materitse or Materice - pick your favorite spelling. This is when kids get their revenge on mom. The kids tie up mom until she relents and promises to give them sugary foods and gifts - until then she is held captive. Moral of that story: if you are a strict mother who doesn't let your kids have sweets, well, don't move to Yugoslavia.

Now for some of those famous anonymous funnies...

My Mother Taught Me...

To Value A Job Well Done: If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.

Time Travel: If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!

Logic: Because I said so, that's why.

Foresight: Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.

Irony: Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about.

Osmosis: Shut your mouth and eat your supper.

Stamina: You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.

Weather: This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.

Hypocrisy: If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!

Circle Of Life: I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.

Behavior Modification: Stop acting like your father!

Envy: There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.

Anticipation: Just wait until we get home.

Receiving: You are going to get it when you get home!

Medical Science: If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.

How To Become An Adult: If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.

Genetics: You're just like your father.

Wisdom: When you get to be my age, you'll understand.

Justice: One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.

You Know You Are Really A Mom When...

* You count the number of sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they are equal.

* You want to take out a contract on the kid who broke your child's favorite toy and made them cry.

* You have time to shave only one leg at a time.

* You hide in the bathroom to be alone.

* Your child throws up and you catch it. (Or worse, another mother in the grocery store yells, "Good catch!" in an admiring tone)

* Someone else's kid throws up at a party and you keep eating. (There are some things you just have to steel yourself against - that you are starving because the kids keep you running all the time and this is your only chance to wolf down some food)

* You consider finger paint to be a controlled substance.

* You mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.

* Your child insists that you read "Once upon a Potty" out loud in the lobby of the doctor's office and you do it.

* You hire a baby sitter because you haven't been out with your husband in ages, then you spend half the night talking about and checking on the kids.

* You hope ketchup is a vegetable because it's the only one your child eats.

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27 April 2010

From Denny: April is the month for celebrating poetry in America and Canada. Like any specialty there are those who waste far too much time being contentious and perfectionist about it to the point they turn off people new to the discipline. I often wonder how many students every year turn away from learning how to write poetry just because their first fledgling efforts were crushed.

Any discipline takes time to develop as the person is developing. Like famous salesman Zig Ziglar often relates: "You have to get the person right before you can get the salesperson right." The same holds true for writers, poets, academics, artists, musicians and more. The creative disciplines seem to require decades to develop well and master.

Yesterday I ran across an essay by English Romantic William Wordsworth on what he thought about the subject of poetry. How notable it is that so much of what he writes is still true today. It seems fitting for the month of April that it is a celebration time for poetry as Wordsworth was born and died in the month of April: 7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850.

For the sake of easier reading, since his language is more formal than we are used to today online, I broke up the excessively long paragraphs into easier visual bites. Remember, Wordsworth wrote in a time of howling long sentences that make mine look like squirts! :)

From the blog At My Soiree by ChrisJ, here's an interesting piece of trivia about the history of how poetry has aided humanity:

"Way, way back, poetry was an aid to memory, the repository for heritage, ancestry, and the lineage of one's cattle. Professional rememberers knew the formulas for oral poetry and could recite the story of a people's creation, battles won and lost, the coming of animals into the world.

At times, poetry has expressly taught us lessons, given us images, told us stories, conveyed ideas, celebrated the sound of words and the sheer joy of putting them together. Poetry expresses the world to us in ways that we don't usually think of for ourselves."

From Writers Sense - a great place for writing resources and where I found this wonderful essay about poetry!

Wordsworth at age 28 in 1798

A POET DEFINED

By William Wordsworth

Taking up the subject upon general grounds, I ask what is meant by the word Poet? What is a poet? To whom does he address himself? And what language is to be expected from him? He is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endued with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, who has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind; a man pleased with his own passions and volitions, and who rejoices more than other men in the spirit of life that is in him; delighting to contemplate similar volitions and passions as manifested in the goings on of the universe, and habitually impelled to create them where he does not find them.

To these qualities he has added a disposition to be affected more than other men by absent things as if they were present; an ability of conjuring up in himself passions, which are indeed far from being the same as those produced by real events, yet especially in those parts of the general sympathy which are pleasing and delightful do more nearly resemble the passions produced by real events than anything which, from the motions of their own minds merely, other men are accustomed to feel in themselves; whence, and from practice, he has acquired a greater readiness and power in expressing what he thinks and feels, and especially those thoughts and feelings which, by his own choice, or from the structure of his own mind, arise in him without immediate external excitement.

But whatever portion of this faculty we may suppose even the greatest poet to possess, there can not be a doubt but that the language which it will suggest to him must, in liveliness and truth, fall far short of that which is uttered by men in real life, under the actual pressure of those passions, certain shadows of which the poet thus produces, or feels to be produced, in himself.

However exalted a notion we would wish to cherish of the character of the poet, it is obvious that, while he describes and imitates passions, his situation is altogether slavish and mechanical, compared with the freedom and power of real and substantial action and suffering. So that it will be the wish of the poet to bring his feelings near to those of the persons whose feelings he describes, nay, for short spaces of time, perhaps, to let himself slip into an entire delusion, and even confound and identify his own feelings with theirs; modifying only the language which is thus suggested to him by a consideration that he describes for a particular purpose, that of giving pleasure.

Here, then, he will apply the principle on which I have so much insisted, namely, that of selection; on this he will depend for removing what would otherwise be painful or disgusting in the passion; he will feel that there is no necessity to trick out or elevate nature; and, the more industriously he applies this principle, the deeper will be his faith that no words which his fancy or imagination can suggest will bear to be compared with those which are the emanations of reality and truth.

But it may be said by those who do not object to the general spirit of these remarks, that, as it is impossible for the poet to produce upon all occasions language as exquisitely fitted for the passion as that which the real passion itself suggests, it is proper that he should consider himself as in the situation of a translator, who deems himself justified when he substitutes excellences of another kind for those which are unattainable by him; and endeavors occasionally to surpass his original, in order to make some amends for the general inferiority to which he feels that he must submit. But this would be to encourage idleness and unmanly despair.

Further, it is the language of men who speak of what they do not understand; who talk of poetry as of a matter of amusement and idle pleasure; who will converse with us as gravely about a taste for poetry, as they express it, as if it were a thing as indifferent as a taste for rope-dancing, or Frontignac, or Sherry.

Aristotle, I have been told, hath said that poetry is the most philosophic of all writing; it is so: its object is truth, not individual and local, but general and operative; not standing upon external testimony, but carried alive into the heart by passion; truth which is its own testimony, which gives strength and divinity to the tribunal to which it appeals, and receives them from the same tribunal. Poetry is the image of man and nature.

The obstacles which stand in the way of the fidelity of the biographer and historian, and of their consequent utility, are incalculably greater than those which are to be encountered by the poet who has an adequate notion of the dignity of his art. The poet writes under one restriction only, namely, that of the necessity of giving immediate pleasure to a human being possest of that information which may be expected from him, not as a lawyer, a physician, a mariner, an astronomer, or a natural philosopher, but as a man. Except this one restriction, there is no object standing between the poet and the image of things: between this and the biographer and the historian there are a thousand.

Nor let this necessity of producing immediate pleasure be considered as a degradation of the poet’s art. It is far otherwise. It is an acknowledgment of the beauty of the universe, an acknowledgment the more sincere because it is not formal, but indirect; it is a task light and easy to him who looks at the world in the spirit of love: further, it is an homage paid to the native and naked dignity of man, to the grand elementary principle of pleasure, by which he knows, and feels, and lives, and moves. We have no sympathy but what is propagated by pleasure.

I would not be misunderstood, but wherever we sympathize with pain it will be found that the sympathy is produced and carried on by subtle combinations with pleasure. We have no knowledge, that is, no general principles drawn from the contemplation of particular facts, but what has been built up by pleasure, and exists in us by pleasure alone. The man of science, the chemist, and mathematician, whatever difficulties and disgusts they may have had to struggle with, know and feel this. However painful may be the objects with which the anatomist’s knowledge is connected, he feels that his knowledge is pleasure; and where he has no pleasure he has no knowledge.

What then does the poet? He considers man and the objects that surround him as acting and reacting upon each other, so as to produce an infinite complexity of pain and pleasure; he considers man in his own nature and in his ordinary life as contemplating this with a certain quantity of immediate knowledge, with certain convictions, intuitions, and deductions, which by habit become of the nature of intuitions; he considers him as looking upon this complex scene of ideas and sensations, and finding everywhere objects that immediately excite in him sympathies which, from the necessities of his nature, are accompanied by an overbalance of enjoyment.

To this knowledge which all men carry about with them, and to these sympathies in which, without any other discipline than that of our daily life, we are fitted to take delight, the poet principally directs his attention. He considers man and nature as essentially adapted to each other, and the mind of man as naturally the mirror of the fairest and most interesting qualities of nature.

And thus the poet, prompted by this feeling of pleasure which accompanies him through the whole course of his studies, converses with general nature with affections akin to those which, through labor and length of time, the man of science has raised up in himself, by conversing with those parts of nature which are the objects of his studies. The knowledge both of the poet and the man of science is pleasure; but the knowledge of the one cleaves to us as a necessary part of our existence, our natural and unalienable inheritance; the other is a personal and individual acquisition, slow to come to us, and by no habitual and direct sympathy connecting us with our fellow beings.

The man of science seeks truth as a remote and unknown benefactor; he cherishes and loves it in his solitude; the poet, singing a song in which all human beings join with him, rejoices in the presence of truth as our visible friend and hourly companion.

Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all science. Emphatically may be said of the poet, as Shakespeare hath said of man, “that he looks before and after.” He is the rock of defense of human nature, an upholder and preserver, carrying everywhere with him relationship and love.

In spite of difference of soil and climate, of language and manners, of laws and customs, in spite of things silently gone out of mind, and things violently destroyed, the poet binds together by passion and knowledge the vast empire of human society, as it is spread over the whole earth and over all time. The objects of the poet’s thoughts are everywhere; tho the eyes and senses of man are, it is true, his favorite guides, yet he will follow wheresoever he can find an atmosphere of sensation in which to move his wings. Poetry is the first and last of all knowledge—it is as immortal as the heart of man.

If the labors of men of science should ever create any material revolution, direct or indirect, in our condition, and in the impressions which we habitually receive, the poet will sleep then no more than at present, but he will be ready to follow the steps of the man of science, not only in those general indirect effects, but he will be at his side, carrying sensation into the midst of the science itself.

The remotest discoveries of the chemist, the botanist, or mineralogist will be as proper objects of the poet’s art as any upon which it can be employed, if the time should ever come when these things shall be familiar to us, and the relations under which they are contemplated by the followers of these respective sciences shall be manifestly and palpably material to us as enjoying and suffering beings. If the time should ever come when what is now called science, thus familiarized to men, shall be ready to put on, as it were, a form of flesh and blood, the poet will lend his divine spirit to aid the transfiguration, and will welcome the being thus produced as a dear and genuine inmate of the household of man.

It is not, then, to be supposed that any one, who holds that sublime notion of poetry which I have attempted to convey, will break in upon the sanctity and truth of his pictures by transitory and accidental ornaments, and endeavor to excite admiration of himself by arts, the necessity of which must manifestly depend upon the assumed meanness of his subject.

*** Let me know if you survived reading Wordsworth today! :)

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

26 April 2010

From Denny: If only I could stay up late and watch all the late night comics all at once... The next best thing is to corral all their funny quips about the state of affairs in America and the world into one post. These guys are the social commentators of our time!

Included also are some of the latest (since Saturday) political cartoons just released with references to the sex crazed Republican National Committee, Earth Day and Arizona immigration.

Check out the latest Colbert Report video clips as he lampoons the new Arizona immigration bill and has some fun with the pot smoking community.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and enjoy the start to your work week with a lots of laughs to keep you going until Friday blissfully arrives! :)

From Jay Leno:

One good thing came out of this volcano in Iceland. Economists say consumers can expect a huge drop in the price of lava lamps.

President Obama gave a speech in New York about his plans to reform the rules for Wall St. A lot of Wall St. executives were shaking in their boots when the president showed up. The bad news is, they were $800 Italian leather boots that were bought with our bailout money.

Happy Earth Day. To demonstrate their commitment, environmentalists all across the country risked their lives driving Toyota Priuses.

According to USA Today, 71 percent of American households have already filled out and returned their census. That's the good news. The bad news — they filled it out in Spanish.

President Obama met with Wall Street executives today. He told them to stop fighting this financial reform. But the Wall Street executives are kind of copping an attitude with the president. You know, I got an idea. Forget financial reform. Let's put them in prison. Call it prison reform. See how they like it then.

Oh, yeah. They don't want the government messing with their business unless it's a bailout. Then, 'Please!'

To give you an idea how popular President Obama is around the world — he's probably the most popular leader in the world — this is amazing. They opened a nightclub in China named after President Obama. It will be an Obama-themed nightclub. Here's the amazing thing — hasn't even opened yet and already $12 trillion in debt.

Well, the government said today Somali pirates being held in U.S. custody will be brought to the United States for prosecution, and they will be tried by a jury of their peers. So I'm guessing that's what, Goldman Sachs?

You see this on the news? Gay and lesbian activists chained themselves to the White House fence to protest the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. And when Republican Party officials saw the lesbians chaining themselves to the fence, out of force of habit, they paid $2,000 to watch.

A new study shows that fewer and fewer immigrants are sending money they earn here back home. They'd like to, but there's no one left at home. They all live here now. They just send it across the street.

This is rather disturbing. A government panel made up of all retired military personnel says that the school lunches are a threat to our national security because they make our kids too fat to serve the country. It's unbelievable. Remember the old days, when the Army wanted the best and the brightest? Now they're stuck with the biggest and the widest.

Here's something great. General Motors today paid back all the government loans five years ahead of schedule. Amazing what hard work, careful planning and Toyotas rolling over and crashing into trees can do for you.

And unemployment here in California, over 12 percent now. Give you an idea how bad it is, you know the best way to make money in California now? Marrying and divorcing Larry King.

Well, in an interview on the 'Today' show, Bill Clinton told Jenna Bush Hager, who is George Bush's daughter, that his only involvement in the planning of his daughter Chelsea's wedding is paying the bill. Although, since he's a Democrat, he doesn't actually pay the bill himself; he leaves it for future generations of Americans. But you get the idea.

For those of you visiting from Iceland, happy Ash Wednesday.

The British government sent a warship to France to bring home stranded Britons. There was an embarrassing moment — when the ship pulled up to the port, the French immediately surrendered.

The volcano was spewing out so much ash that now, the Catholic Church is saying it couldn't even see what it was doing wrong.

The giant cloud of ash over Amsterdam is so bad that you can't even see the giant cloud of hashish.

According to a top Iranian cleric, earthquakes and volcanoes are caused by women wearing immodest clothing. Or as most guys would call it: a fair trade-off.

President Obama and some prominent Democrats proposed a solution to the erupting volcano — they want to pour money into it.

Toyota is recalling 600,000 minivans because the spare tire holder can break and the spare tire can go flying down the highway. It's bad enough Toyota cars can run you off the road — now the parts are chasing you down the street.

*** Colbert lampoons the 4/20 pot smoking holiday, trying to kill their buzz. Colbert satirically warns that pot smoking could lead to awful tragedies like the music group Phish getting back together and other horrific occurrences.

A new poll found that a substantial number of Americans still aren't convinced that President Obama was born in the United States. Only 58 percent believe that Obama was born here, and 20 percent think he was born in another country. I don't believe Obama was born at all.

Vice President Biden appeared on 'The View.' They were trying to set the Guinness Record for most Botox on one couch. And they did, so congratulations.

Happy Earth Day to everyone. An estimated one billion people celebrate Earth Day. Al Gore, in particular, is wasted right now.

Yesterday was 4/20, known to stoners around the country as National Weed Day. There were pro-marijuana legalization rallies all around the country, especially here in California, where freedom fighters like this guy exercised their right to free speech vigorously. 'Here in the meadow, people were chilling out. Some, maybe too much. We're here just to have a bunch of fun in a field.' That's a good way to spend a Tuesday, while your parents are paying tuition.

The Fox network had their annual telethon 'Idol Gives Back.' I was hoping they would give back the hundreds of hours I've wasted watching 'American Idol.'

The new $100 bill was unveiled today. So if you have any old $100 bills, you can throw them away now.

The Supreme Court is hearing a case about 'sexting.' Apparently the justices of the Supreme Court are not up to date on technology. Chief Justice Roberts asked what is the difference between an e-mail and a pager. Justice Roberts is only 55 years old. He's young enough to be Larry King's next wife.

Today is April 20, which is like Christmas for pot-smokers. It all started in the 1700s when St. Patrick drove the stoners out of Ireland with a pack of Twinkies.

In celebration of 4/20, the volcano in Iceland is still smoking. And it just asked for Hot Pockets.

Travelers have been stranded in dozens of countries, but they're finally allowing flights to take off to countries that no one likes.

You know, a lot of people were flying and got delayed by the Icelandic volcano, and everybody is upset. They lost billions of dollars in revenue. And I said, 'O.K., it's kind of their fault. I mean to be flying during the volcano season, come on! Are you nuts? Really? Your own fault.'

Here is a story that is kind of perplexing: 221 years ago, George Washington went to the library here in New York, took out some books, never returned them. 221 years of overdue library fines. I tell you something, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to blame this economic crisis on a president, what about that guy?

Here's news now from the Supreme Court. Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring. He's in his 90s, Justice John Paul Stevens. Said he has had enough, wants to spend more time judging his family.

President Obama is here to announce his peace initiative for Mr. and Mrs. Larry King.

Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring. Don't worry, he's getting his own show on TBS.

Al Pacino is starring in a TV movie, where he plays Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Did they not even look at my audition tape? … Dr. Kevorkian was a killing machine. He pulled more plugs than Jay Leno.

Talking about air travel and the volcano. The good news, ladies and gentlemen, regular airline service is resuming. The bad news — regular airline service is resuming.

Is anyone here stranded because of the volcano? Well, that's what you get for traveling during volcano season.

Because of the volcano, the airlines lost $2 billion. Usually, all they lose is my luggage.

Because of the volcano in Iceland, thousands of travelers are stranded with no place to sleep, eat, or shower. This is the kind of thing that can really take the fun out of air travel.

"The name of the volcano is Eyjafjallajökull. It's the scariest thing out of Iceland since Björk in that swan outfit.

The volcano cloud is gritty ash and it's making its way toward Russia. In fact, Sarah Palin can see it from her house.

David Letterman's Top Ten Goldman Sachs Excuses

10. Huh?
9. You're saying 'fraud' like it's a bad thing
8. Planned on using money to buy everyone in America delicious KFC Double Down sandwich
7. Distraught over George Lopez's move to midnight
6. We were framed by evil menswear company Goldman Slacks
5. Since when are financial institutions not allowed to screw their customers?
4. Hey sport, how much to make these questions go away?
3. America needed a villain both Republicans and Democrats can hate
2. Everyone we ripped off got an 'I Got Cheated By Goldman Sachs' tote bag
1. Uhh, it's Obama's fault?

*** Colbert pokes jabs at the state of Arizonafor passing controversial bold new immigration bill which basically legalizes the harassment of Latinos. Colbert thinks the new strategy is one to irritate and frustrate the Latino community to the point they will get fed up and leave on their own.

Today the U.S. Treasury released its new $100 bill. It's the most high-tech piece of currency the world has ever seen — until Apple comes out with the '$100 bill Nano.'

Happy birthday to Jack Nicholson today, and also it's Earth Day. Planet Earth and Jack Nicholson are different, of course — one is a giant object ravaged by years of abuse and we're running out of time to save it, and the other one is Earth.

The movie 'Avatar' is out on DVD today. James Cameron wanted it to be released on Earth Day because nothing says 'save the planet' like millions of plastic DVD cases.

It's the 40th Earth Day, which is bad news for Earth. Once you get in your forties, your equator expands, your poles start to melt — soon you'll look as bad as Uranus.

Oama is getting his mojo back. Apparently, he's going to get this financial package. That's right, the financial package is going through. He got health care. He got that nuclear weapons treaty… He's on a roll and he's taunting his critics. His new slogan is, 'Change You Can Suck On.'

Arizona's Governor had been stalling, you know, on signing this. She said it did not reflect any ambivalence about the bill. She just wanted to make sure her pool was clean and her lawn was mowed before she signed. – on Arizona's immigration bill.

The entire rig sunk. Republicans in Washington today voted to lower flags to half staff in honor of the tragic loss of oil. - on the oil rig in The Gulf of Mexico

What is it with radical Muslims and cartoons? They watch more cartoons than pot-heads. – on the group threatening the "South Park" creators

The problem with the Tea Party movement, besides their almost universal rejection of dentistry, is that they want money for nothing and chicks for free. They want a deregulated free market and their jobs to stay here in the US; they want guaranteed health coverage regardless of preexisting conditions without a big government mandate; they want to call themselves tea baggers and people to keep a straight face. And of course they want big tax cuts along with deficit reduction. I can't even think of a suitable analogy for that disconnect – it's like thinking getting a handjob will clean your garage.

New Rule: Since the Icelandic volcano obviously needs a virgin sacrifice and the Catholic Church obviously needs new leadership the Pope must volunteer to jump in the volcano. Pontiff, don't think of it as endorsing paganism, think of it as supersizing Ash Wednesday. – in his "New Rules" segment

New Rule: If the water in your river makes the male fish grow vaginas, stay thirsty. 90% of Washington D.C.'s drinking water comes from the Potomac, a river so polluted with hormones it makes fish change sex. If I wanted to drink something that makes me grow a vagina, I'd order a wine cooler. – in his "New Rules" segment

From Seth Meyers:

This week Arizona signed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country, which would allow the police to demand identification papers from anyone they suspect is in the country illegally. I know there are some people in Arizona worried that Obama is acting like Hitler, but can we all agree that there's nothing more Nazi than saying, `Show me your papers?' There's never been a WWII movie that didn't include the line, `Show me your papers.' It's their catchphrase. Every time someone says `Show me your papers,' Hitler's family gets a residual check. So heads up Arizona, that's fascism. I know, I know, it's a dry fascism, but it's still fascism. - on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update"

From Jon Stewart:

Look I'm sorry I told you to go f**k yourself last week (and that other time, like, six months ago.) I know that I criticize you and Fox News a lot, but only because you're truly a terrible, cynical, disingenuous news organization.

Fox News: You are the lupus of news.

And with a nod to Groundhog Phil who predicted six more weeks of winter this year: Everyone knows if a Republican comes out of the closet and sees a gay shadow, it means six more years of a Democratic administration.

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

25 April 2010

From Denny: Reading is such a pleasure because we can learn new information or take a mental trip into someone else's world to see what they discover. These days I seem to be on the writing end rather than the reading end. Maybe that's what happens after you spend so much time reading: you start writing! :)

I love to poke around and see what I find and then share it on my blogs. Here are some of the latest posts and also many of the most popular ones from my many eclectic interests, enjoy! And hey! - if you cook anything wonderful from these recipe posts, send a sample dish my way - and let me know how you have altered the recipes to your tastes. We love trying new foods at our house!

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

24 April 2010

From Denny: In the interest of getting these pages to load faster for you I thought I'd try something different. You know about the traveling dinner concept? That's where you go to one person's house for the opening cocktail or appetizer, then travel on to another house for a salad, then somewhere else for the entree and finally the dessert.

Well, since I have such a love of the satire from clever political cartoonists lampooning our society, current culture and politics the weekly posts have gotten far too long. Fun but long. So, I thought I'd treat you to a traveling post among my various blogs to enjoy the flavors at each "house."

In this "house" post weapons seem to be the main theme: Iran working on becoming a nuclear state, concealed weapons carried by college students on campus and coffee drinkers into Starbucks coffee shops. It's no big surprise that NASA and the Air Force are preparing to weaponize space. More weapons loose on deck are the "nuclear option" of the Republican filibuster, the financial sledgehammer from Wall Street bankers and - leading up to celebration of Earth Day - planet Earth setting off the Icelandic volcano to scream its message of "Enough already with the fossil fuels, people!" Yeah, that Iceland volcano sure got the attention of the airline industry. It cost $200 million per day worldwide, wrecking a weak economy in Europe and America.

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

We’ve been celebrating Earth Day for 40 years now, but the truth is that tomorrow may be the first one when we are truly able to say that we have started down the road to a real clean energy economy -- and a better world for our kids.

Today I am kicking off the Administration’s celebration of Earth Day in advance by announcing $452 million in Recovery Act “Retrofit Ramp-Up” awards. These awards will help make energy efficiency affordable for hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses, and are expected to create tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

And this is just a tiny sliver of what we’ve done. As the President’s point man on the Recovery Act, which included America’s biggest investment ever in clean energy, I’ve visited countless communities that have seen jobs come back through these kinds of initiatives.

You can learn more about all our efforts at WhiteHouse.gov/EarthDay, and also join Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, for a special online video chat tomorrow at 12:00PM EDT at WhiteHouse.gov.

Of course Earth Day is about more than just government action to protect our air, water and environment. Since the first Earth Day forty years ago countless Americans have taken action to make their local communities cleaner and healthier and to have a positive impact on our planet.

This year, President Obama is calling on all of us to pitch in and participate in the Earth Day of Service. On Serve.gov/EarthDay you can find thousands of Earth Day Service events in communities across the country.

Whether you pick up trash at a local park, plant trees, or clean up the river or stream in your hometown, there are plenty of ways to get involved. I hope you’ll join President Obama and me in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Sincerely,

Joe BidenVice President of the United States

"As we continue to tackle our environmental challenges, it’s clear that change won’t come from Washington alone. It will come from Americans across the country who take steps in their own homes and their own communities to make that change happen."

10 Green Giants That Could Change the World - how some big business and governments are attempting to be more green. They left out BMW, the German car company that is environmentally sensitive at their American plant.

Go Green With Your Morning Coffee - short video, If you start every morning with a fresh cuppa joe in your hand, then these tips are for you. Find out some simple ways you can buy, prepare, and order coffee so that it's brewed or served in an environmentally friendly way.

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The Social Poets

*** News, intelligent politics, American and world politics, common sense political opinion with humor, original poems from a (female) Social Issues Poet (SIP), funny quotes that make you think. *** Email : warriorspearl@gmail.com.

*** Join me for coffee and on Google Friend Connect too! - Denny Lyon, a Louisiana liberal blogger (yes, there is such a political animal in Republican country), writing on the right side of sanity, pushing our government to give us their very best and nothing less.

About Me

Bored with homogenized journalism? Yeah, me too which is why I started all my blogs. Deep thinking of the news and how it affects our lives along with lots of humor posts and much more from my 24 blogs. A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. Sit back, relax, get informed, cook a little and laugh a lot: http://dennysnews2.blogspot.com - where all the blogs link so you can peruse for your interests.

I'm a hybrid journalist-blogger which befuddles the publishing and journalism industries that are in serious flux these days - OK, the publishing houses have been melting down. What is not to understand? Time to rock on and catch up with the fast moving times. Hmmm... maybe I have Tiger or Dragon blood after all. :)

Social Issues Poet (SIP), Google searched as
"The Social Prophet," abstract artist, photographer, life philosophy and spirituality writer, great cook.

Writing eclectic interests on world news, American politics, great simple food and recipes, chocolate as the other food group, throw up some of my art, poetry,
lots of great humor, astronomy and other sciences, photography - mine and other friends, spiritual and lover of people.

Enjoy all kinds of people from the most artistic to those who think themselves not creative but have just not yet unlocked it.

Yes, I LOVE people, even the annoying ones though no one ever said they would be immune from hearing from me about said bad attitude. :)

Keep the Joy in your heart and it will get you through anything that gets in your way in Life - a tried and true life philosophy from those who know from experience there will always be obstacles in Life. Your will must develop to be stronger and sweep aside, leap over, walk around or just plain spit on those obstacles. Hey, whatever works, right?

Journalism degree from LSU: Geaux TIGERS! (This is Louisiana where we take creative license when it comes to spelling.)

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Who Is Warriors Pearl You Ask?

Warriors Pearl is a small company start-up over at Cafe Press, in the Denny Lyon Gifts store. After viewing an NBC News with Brian Williams segment in 2012 detailing their lives, this store was created to raise funds and awareness for raped military women who found themselves homeless. The Pentagon still refuses to give the victims justice, protecting the guilty, doing little to nothing to address homelessness and medical needs. It's a national shame.

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The names "The Social Poets" and "Denny Lyon" and "From Denny" are copyrighted as are all photos, including family photos, text, posts and articles by Denny Lyon. Articles, posts and photos by other people are copyrighted only by them - and do not fall under copyright on this blog or Google. Copyright 2008 - 2050 of The Social Poets by Denny Lyon. All Rights Reserved. I plan on being around for a very long time. :)